1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of garment design and production. More specifically, the present invention relates to suspending decorative items, such as flowers, on a garment in such a way that the method of suspension cannot be detected except by close examination. In general, an embellishment is suspended on a sheer fabric without the use of adhesives or permanent stitching.
2. Description of Related Art
In the field of garment design and production, especially for more formal garments such as wedding gowns and other formal gowns, it is often desirable to suspend decorative items, such as flowers, on the exterior or surface of the gown. In the past, this has been accomplished several ways. For example, traditional methods for attaching a decorative item to a garment have included gluing, pinning or stitching the item directly to the garment. Each of these methods has disadvantages.
In one sense, whenever a decorative item is itself directly attached to a garment, there is a risk of damage to the item and to the garment. In another sense, these direct attachment methods limit the items that may be used for decoration on a garment. In particular, when an item is glued to a garment, the glue may damage the fabric of the garment. Unless a large amount of glue is used, the item is usually easily knocked off of the garment. If a large amount of glue is used, it is more likely that the glue will be visible and that the garment will be damaged. Additionally, glue is typically lost during dry cleaning.
When pinning is used to attach a decorative item to a garment, one is severely limited in the types of item that can be used. The item must be something that can be pinned. Further, putting a pin through an item will damage the item at least at the point of puncture. Many times, the garment to be decorated is a formal garment of some kind, such as a wedding gown. These garments are typically made of more delicate fabrics, such as satin and lace. Putting a pin through these fabrics often causes a permanent hole in the fabric where the pin was and weakens the fabric. Moreover, having multiple items pinned over the surface of a garment can be dangerous to the wearer of the garment due to the likelihood of being pricked with one or more pins.
The method of stitching items to a garment is also limited to the use of nonfragile, non-delicate items such as cloth or beads. The use of this method also risks damage to the item and/or to the garment. For example, Candace Kling (1996) teaches the use of crinoline, which resembles cheesecloth, as a backing for decorative items. The crinoline is then tacked to the garment with stitching. Susan Khalje (1997) also teaches sewing fabric flowers directly onto a gown or gluing items, such as sequins, directly onto an outer layer of tulle.